President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to increase security on federal credit cards, and has urged retailers and banks to do similar to combat identify fraud, reports Reuters.

President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to increase security on federal credit cards, and has urged retailers and banks to do similar to combat identify fraud, reports Reuters.

The President signed the executive order an front of regulators at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and promises to ensure all government credit and debit cards contain PIN numbers and microchips from January.

“The idea that somebody halfway around the world could run up thousands of dollars in charges in your name just because they stole your number, or because you swiped your card at the wrong place in the wrong time, that’s infuriating”, Obama said.

Engadget reports that this won’t just be about ‘protecting day-to-day staff expenses’, pointing out that “pensions, Social Security and veteran payments should be safer.” The site also observes that this should have a knock-on effect of decreasing the risks of buying from federal locations “like national parks and the passport office,” thanks to upgraded terminals.

With the sheer number of card breaches in recent weeks, the White House hopes to “nudge the broader financial industry and retailers towards more secure standards,” claims The Huffington Post.

The White House issued a statement stating that “There is a need to act and to move our economy toward stronger, more secure technologies that better secure transactions and safeguard data”.

Large chains including Home Depot, Target and Walmart plan on having readers for chip and PIN card installed by 2015, the White House added. Over 100 million Americans have been affected by payment system breachers in the last year, according to official figures.